Murder of Jastine Valdez

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Jastine Valdez was a Filipina woman living in Ireland who was abducted and murdered on May 19, 2018.[1]

Background[edit]

Jastine Valdez was the only child of Danilo and Teresita Valdez.[2] She was born in Aritao, the Philippines and moved to Enniskerry, County Wicklow in 2015.[3] She was studying Accounting and Finance at Tallaght Institute of Technology part-time while also working in a bakery in Bray, County Wicklow.[1][4]

Abduction and Murder[edit]

On Saturday May 19, 2018, Jastine Valdez went to the town of Bray where she attended an appointment at Bray Garda station to renew her residency permit. While in Bray she also went to the gym and went to a shop to purchase bread.[5]

At 5:40pm Valdez boarded the 185 bus from Bray back to her hometown of Enniskerry and arrived in Enniskerry at 6pm. From there she had a 15-20 minute walk home along the R760 Kilcroney Road.[6][7]

At 6:15pm a witness called 999 to report seeing a female pedestrian being forced into the back of a dark coloured SVU. Minutes after this sighting, a driver saw a distressed female passenger in a SUV.[2]

At 11:30pm Jastine Valdez was reported missing by her parents. Gardaí then linked her disappearance to the reported abduction as it occurred on Jastine's route home and witness descriptions of the abducted woman matched her.[1]

That night Gardaí issued an appeal for information in connection with Valdez's disappearance and provided a description of the suspect vehicle as well as a partial license plate.[8]

Gardaí were able to identify the vehicle used in the abduction from CCTV in the area surrounding the abduction site and identified the vehicle as a Nissan Qashqai with the license plate 171 D 20419 registered to a woman in Bray. The owner was spoken to on Sunday May 20 and Gardaí learned that her husband, Mark Hennessy had left in the vehicle on Saturday and had not returned.[1]

Gardaí then renewed an appeal for the public's cooperation in locating Valdez, the vehicle, and Mark Hennessy.[9] Following this appeal, Hennessy called his family to inform them he would not be coming back.[10]

Following the public appeal, a witness reported seeing Hennessy drive into Cherrywood Business Park, an industrial estate in County Dublin. Gardaí believed Hennessy had Valdez in the car and witnessed him self-harm with a Stanely knife.[11] Gardaí witnessed Hennessy bend into the passenger footwell, and believing Valdez to be in the car, a Garda shot Hennessy once.[12][11] Hennessy died at the scene.[13]

A note was found in the car which read “Puck's Castle” and “sorry.”[14]

Following a search, Valdez's body was recovered at Puck's Castle Rathmichael, County Dublin on Monday May 21, 2018. It was later determined that she had been strangled.[15]

Subsequent Investigations[edit]

An inquest determined that Hennessy had been shot once in the shoulder which entered his torso, killing him. The Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission (GSOC) conducted an investigation into the shooting of Mark Hennessy. No prosecution was recommended by the Director of Public Prosecutions.[16]

Gardaí investigated Hennessy in relation to other unsolved crimes in Ireland, however his DNA profile did not match any DNA within the Irish DNA database.[17]

Aftermath[edit]

Jastine Valdez was buried in her hometown of Aritao in the Philippines.[18] A memorial fund for her parents raised over €150,000.[19]

Jastine Valdez's murder came just days after the murder of Ana Kriegel,[20] who was murdered at the age of 14 by two teenagers who became the youngest people ever convicted of murder in Ireland.[21] These deaths led to the Women's Council calling for the government to conduct a review into femicide in Ireland.[22]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d "Jastine Valdez: A life full of promise snatched away in a strange land". The Irish Times. Retrieved 2024-05-21.
  2. ^ a b Roseingrave, Louise (2019-11-04). "'We will never have peace': Parents of Jastine Valdez speak of grief as inquest returns unlawful killing verdict". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 2024-05-21.
  3. ^ "Hometown of Jastine Valdez prepares for her funeral". The Irish Times. Retrieved 2024-05-21.
  4. ^ "Jastine Valdez was an only child who moved with her family from Philippines". The Irish Times. Retrieved 2024-05-21.
  5. ^ "Inquest hears heartbreaking circumstances of Jastine's death". Irish Independent. 2019-11-09. Retrieved 2024-05-21.
  6. ^ Roseingrave, Louise (2019-11-04). "Jastine Valdez's parents speak of never-ending grief at emotional inquest into daughter's killing". TheJournal.ie. Retrieved 2024-05-21.
  7. ^ "The last hours of Jastine Valdez and her killer Mark Hennessy". The Irish Times. Retrieved 2024-05-21.
  8. ^ "Appeal for information - Jastine Valdez -Enniskerry". Garda. Retrieved 2024-05-21.
  9. ^ "Renewed Appeal - Jastine Valdez Investigation". Garda. Retrieved 2024-05-21.
  10. ^ (2018-05-22). "Evil Mark Hennessy left chilling message with family hours before he was shot". The Irish Sun. Retrieved 2024-05-21. {{cite web}}: |last= has numeric name (help)
  11. ^ a b O'Sullivan, Colman (2020-01-21). "Inquest told how garda shot Jastine Valdez's killer". {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  12. ^ Roseingrave, Louise (2020-01-22). "Garda tells inquest he shot Mark Hennessy as he believed he was about to slit Jastine Valdez's throat". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 2024-05-21.
  13. ^ Roseingrave, Louise (2020-01-21). "Inquest told how Mark Hennessy 'looked as if everything was over' before garda shot him". TheJournal.ie. Retrieved 2024-05-21.
  14. ^ (2018-05-22). "Shock details emerge about what evil Mark Hennessy wrote in note found by cops". The Irish Sun. Retrieved 2024-05-21. {{cite web}}: |last= has numeric name (help)
  15. ^ "Jastine Valdez: Post mortem finds woman was strangled". 2018-05-20. Retrieved 2024-05-21.
  16. ^ O’Keeffe, Cormac (2019-06-05). "DPP recommends no prosecution against detective who shot Jastine Valdez's killer". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 2024-05-21.
  17. ^ O'Riordan, Ellen (2018-07-10). "DNA results reveal killer Mark Hennessy not involved in other unsolved crimes". Irish Mirror. Retrieved 2024-05-21.
  18. ^ "Jastine Valdez funeral held in Philippines weeks after murder". The Irish Times. Retrieved 2024-05-21.
  19. ^ Slater, Sarah (2019-01-13). "Memorial fund for family of Jastine Valdez raises over €150,000". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 2024-05-21.
  20. ^ "Analysis: Attacks heighten vulnerability among women". The Irish Times. Retrieved 2024-05-21.
  21. ^ "Ana Kriégel murder trial: The complete story". The Irish Times. Retrieved 2024-05-21.
  22. ^ "Women's Council calls for review of femicides". The Irish Times. Retrieved 2024-05-21.
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